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Leading Climatologist Joins NCSE Board

October 3rd, 2012

Climate change expert Ben Santer joins forces with NCSE

Dr. Benjamin D. Santer, a noted climate researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has joined NCSE's board of directors. Santer, who has devoted years to identifying the role humans play in climate change, will advise NCSE on its new climate change education initiative.

Santer comes well prepared. A MacArthur "genius" grant winner, Santer has a clutch of scientific breakthroughs to his credit, notably his statistical "fingerprint" methods that pinpointed the human role in global warming and climate change. Santer was a major contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) studies that won the organization the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

An Inconvenient Science

Why fight for climate change education? For Santer, it's all about the kids.

"We're leaving behind a tremendous problem for our kids and grandkids," says Santer. "My generation showed that humans are affecting global climate, but we haven't really done anything to solve this problem. Our kids need to be savvy about the science of climate change, so they can make smarter decisions than we've made, and do a better job managing emissions of greenhouse gases."

And why join NCSE? There are powerful forces of unreason casting doubt on "inconvenient science," says Santer. Climate change is just the latest science to be attacked.

"NCSE has successfully taken on evolution deniers for decades and prevailed. It's in an excellent position to apply lessons learned to climate change denial," says Santer. "We have a moral and ethical responsibility to provide the public with the best-available information on the causes and likely impacts of climate change. NCSE will play a key role in this education process, and in countering climate myths and misinformation."

A Great Defender

"Ben has been a great defender of science, battling the forces of science denial for nearly two decades," said Eugenie C. Scott, NCSE Executive Director. "Ben was one of the first scientists to clearly attribute climate change to human activities back in 1996. He went public with his conclusions and was viciously attacked by science deniers and accused of faking and manipulating data. But Ben stood tough. The critics were proven wrong and Ben's rock-solid science has revolutionized the way we look at the Earth's climate."

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is a not-for-profit membership organization that defends the teaching of evolution and climate change in the public schools. The NCSE provides information, resources, and advice to schools, teachers, parents, and concerned citizens defending science education. We educate the press and public about the scientific, educational, and legal aspects of these issues at local, state, and national levels. Our 4000 members are scientists, teachers, clergy, and citizens with diverse religious affiliations.